Gruesome Tidings
by Rakkoon
Summary: AU: Zutara. Takes place in the Western Air Temple, right after Aang agreed to letting Zuko teach him fire bending. Can Katara figure this out? She likes Aang right? Or so she thinks...
1. Hot, Steamy, Rudeness!

I've come to write this on account of one of my best friends (I have many believe it or not) she is an avid fan of Kataang. I'll writing this to show her it can be done. I myself dislike Avatar with my entire being, and don't watch the show unless forced, so she's given me the low-down on what's happening.

If you have any problem in how this is written or have any suggestions for the Zutara they are welcome. Flames will not be ignored, I will reply to you with much apathy and tell you that if you didn't like you can kiss my guitar. Remember, I'm doing this for a friend; I cringe at the fact of even having an Avatar fan fic in my stories.

Disclaimer: I don't own a thing, but if I did, I'd change some of the plot line and make Katara less whiney. But no one's perfect (and I'm whiney sometimes, I'll admit) so…I forgive her….ack…..something in my throat.

Enjoy….I sure won't be.

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The blistering heat seared my throat, with the flick of my finger water rushed up to my mouth in a hurry.

Flames were being thrown on the other side of the temple, its temperature baking us further.

"Now around and then come up under your arm," Zuko instructed.

Aang did as told, getting it near perfect. Zuko was new to the whole 'teaching' thing so it took longer than it would really have to be for the Avatar. But if you asked me, he was stalling. His army would pop up any time on flying machines. The Western Air Temple wouldn't work as a shield for too long.

A familiar moan came to my right, then the growl of a stomach. "Ugh. I'm so hungry," Sokka commented, carrying out the 'O' in _so_ longer than he needed to. "Why can't we go down to the river and find some food?"

That caught Zuko's attention.

"Because you just ate ten minutes ago. The Avatar needs to train more. We've hardly gotten anything done because of your little games!" Zuko yelled, stepped over to Sokka.  
I got to my feet, staring hard at the fire bender. "Don't you dare even thinking about talking to my brother that way! I mean yeah, he can complain a lot, and he does eat four times the amount of food we eat"- Sokka made horrified faces in the back ground at her words –"but he's not yours to rule around." Just before Zuko could catch her with a venomous glare, she caught herself. "You don't boss Aang around either. He's allowing you to teach him. Nothing more."

Zuko took a deep breath, about to say something, but the Avatar walked up. "No more fighting. Let's go down to the stream. I'd like do a bit of water bending and take a break." Zuko could say nothing to that.

I smiled at my triumph, and walked away, a bit of pride in my step. But I could feel amber eyes drilling into my back as I went over to Appa, I broke into a run. When I reached the flying Bison, I climbed up onto him with agility and quickness. I wanted to get away from that stare…..the one I could not place. It was a strange stare, not hostile, but confused. I wanted to stay away from it. Aang took his place at Appa's head, holding the rains, and Sokka sat down on the white fuzz along with me, fishing pole in hand. I dared to look to my right again, only to see Zuko leaning up against a stone pillar, hair blowing lightly in the warm breeze. I shook myself out of it, it was Aang I liked.

Aang looked back at me briefly, a content smile upon his lips, and that spread into a bigger grin as I looked back at him with a small giggle. "Hey Zuko, why don't you come with us?" Aang asked. My mouth fell open, and I shook my head quickly. Aang only gave me a sweet pout, and insisted Zuko should come down and play in the water with us. Zuko grunted under his breath, looking to the air bender.

"I'd rather die."

Aang laughed, pulling out a special smile for Zuko. "Come on! It'll be fun! You can even just sit by the river and watch. It's cooler down there."

Zuko tightened his jaw and said through gritted teeth, "I hate water. And watching you has got to be more boring than Azula practicing."

I rolled my eyes. "Give up Aang, he's not coming. It's not our fault he won't make time for fun." I said this to get rid of Zuko, and I thought it would, until I saw Zuko make his way up Appa.

"Fine. If you really want me down there."

I look of repulse and shock plastered itself to my face, I turned the other way. "Good, no everyone's together," Aang said with another smile.

"Yip, yip!"

Appa looked excited to feel the cool air in his fur again, and water felt close. He jumped into the air, bolting down into the valleys of the mountains. I held on for dear life, praying that Appa's fur wouldn't suddenly give out. As I glanced over at Zuko –I did this because I wanted to check and see in everyone was okay, and my eyes happened to see him still there- who was obviously not having a good time. I cracked a smile at his struggle to stay on. But as I was about to turn away he caught my smirk, and questioned it in his face.

I made an exasperated noise from my mouth, and we landed. "Land ho!"

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So if you didn't like it, I understand, I didn't like it either.

If you did, I'd appreciate a review; tell me if it's worth pursuing. One more thing I'd like to tell you. My writing skills are usually much better than this, they just don't shine very bright in Avatar, don't judge so quickly.


	2. Wet 'n Wild

Okay so, I'm guessing you guys want me to continue. I was shocked when I got two reviews, for a couple reasons: One, I told my friend (the one I'm writing this story for) that I wouldn't get any reviews, Two, I never get 86 hits in a couple hours on any story.

So, I'm guessing you guys like it, well, whether or not you do, I will keep the story going, as much displeasure it brings me. (sigh) Alas, to show my gratitude to you not ignoring the 'Please review' I shall write another chapter.

May God Bless.

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Zuko was the first to get off Appa, his cheeks red as he held one hand over his mouth, and rushed over to a bush by the stream. I laughed. I got off –hiding the fact that I felt as Zuko did- and walked over to the water's edge. I stripped down to my swim wear, the light cloth that I usually wore underneath all the robes. I jumped into the water; the boiling heat of the day seemed to wash off completely, and I sunk into the river with absolute happiness. I had forgotten about all my 'strife' I had endured that day, all thanks to a simple bath.

Before I knew it, Aang was bended a large water ball at me, I ducked under the surface. I could still hear him laugh at my response from under the water; I only rolled my eyes and returned to the top. He was still giggling by the time I had a ball of water in my hands, ready to fire. I threw it at him, and it got him –and innocent bystanders- all wet. Zuko let flames lick at his wet skin, and soon, he was dry again……though his expression was quite drenched.

Aang laughed at that too.

Over by the side I could see Sokka already fishing, sitting on a rock with concentration. Then something hit me, like a big wet leaf.

"Where's Toph?"

Everyone went quiet, all except for fish boy, who had been silent before. Aang jumped onto Appa and flew up to the temple once again. I laughed, suddenly remembering where she was at. Zuko looked at me like I was insane. "Ha! I left Toph sleeping! I had so many distractions…." I let myself fall back into the blue liquid, bending the water underneath me so that it wouldn't make a sound when my body entered it. Not a sound. The water rushed around me, and I let myself sink to the bottom. My eyes closed, the only sound was Zuko yelling something above on ground. Heh, I bet you thinks I passed out or something. Weirdo.

My back finally hit something, something that would be the floor of the stream; I turned around, trying to get a good look at it. I was expecting to see pretty river stones, but what I saw made my skin curl back. I screamed. Underwater. I am a water bender, and usually this would be no problem, I just go back to get some air, but this time I was out, and I could see black spots enter my vision. Suddenly, something made an immerse splash behind me, and then grabbed me around the waist. _Oh thanks goodness, Sokka saved me, _I thought as I drifted into unconsciousness.

…..

"Is she okay?!" Aang's upset voice broke the black wall.

A closer voice caught me off guard, it made me jump. Then I was fully awake. Aang was next to me, his face streaked with worry. "Katara! Are you okay?!" He exclaimed, one hand on my shoulder. I nodded quickly, glancing over at the people behind Aang. But as I looked to the others, something made me choke.

Sokka wasn't wet.

I looked to the others, who were dry as well.

"Who saved me?" I asked, confusion dawning on my face. Zuko raised one hand and put it behind his neck, turning away. Finally Aang spoke up.

"Zuko did."

I coughed. "What? He hates water."

Sokka came up to me next, his face covered with more than worry, anger. "How could you be so stupid? Just to let yourself drown? You're a water bender for Pete's sake!" I got to my legs –which by the way felt like putty under me- and walked over to Toph. "Where were you?" I was trying to flip the subject to some one else. "I was sleeping under a rock. How's the water? I'd like to try it out."

A hand found its way to my shoulder, and a steadying voice came from behind me. "What made you drown?" His ruff tone showed that he was concealing something; I put up an internal wall and turned to him.

"There was something in the water that……frightened me," I said through gritted teeth.

Zuko had already removed his hand; he turned away from me, his pale face tinted slightly. My eye brows contorted themselves, and I shook my head in disgust. Some great day this had turned out to be. Aang only took my hand and smiled at me. "How about we see what that was that scared you." His pleasant smile made me glad out of the blue, and I nodded.

"Where was it at?" The air bender asked. It wasn't hard to tell, since the water was still stirred from the rescue. I wrapped my hand around my stomach, sick at the thought of Zuko's arm around me. Saving me. Touching me. Eck. Aang then bended the water up in that area, and splashed the object to the dry ground, getting Zuko wet once again. My eyes fell upon the soaked fire bender again –without my want to- and I saw his face, all wrinkled at the water on him. It made me laugh. I caught myself though, asking why I had done that. Maybe it was funny, that's why I was laughing. Yeah, Aang would have laughed if he had seen it.

The battle continued in my head. The battle over my feelings.

Toph made a noise at the shape on the ground. I'm sure even though she couldn't see; she could feel that it was gross. It looked a lot like what I had seen under the water, except clearer. It was a body. The body of a Air Bender. Aang was frozen in his place, shaking a bit. I put one arm around his shoulders, in an attempt of comfort. The body was shriveled, almost dry looking. How it had lasted this long caused me to question. Sokka's lips curled back and his stomach growled again.

"Well, now that that mystery solved, I'm going to find a different stream to fish in. One without dead people."

I couldn't be sure if Aang recognized the person –since it resembled a prune more than anything- but the sadness in his eyes told me so. Tears welled up in his eyes, and he wiped them away with haste. "What am I doing?! I need to stay strong, for you guys," Aang yelled at himself.

I turned Aang and placed both hands on either side of him. "Don't beat yourself up, this was family to you, I understand how fell." I then took him into a hug. I rubbed Aang's back a bit, his bear skin warm.

He then broke free of my grasp, and walked to the water, jumping in. "Now, where did our sunny day go?" He smiled, the last of his tears cleaned away with his hand. I could only reply to that with another laugh and a smile. "Our day is right here."

Toph got into the water too, though she couldn't see as well, she stayed in the shallow end. The rest of the day went without delay. I couldn't help but feel those eyes on my again, as I laughed, splashed at Aang, and bended water to Toph. They were curious, at least they seemed to be. I tried to turn my attention to Aang, and his water tricks in front of me.

Later on that night, we buried the body. I laid the left over incense by the flowers, and stepped back. Aang had left long ago, back to the temple, afraid of breaking down again. But Toph stayed with me. "So, what's up with you? You've been acting strange."

She noticed? Well she is the blind earth and metal bender. "Nothing's wrong. Zuko's just getting on my nerves." I started to walk away, but her hand clasped around my wrist with lightning speed.

"That's not it. There's something you aren't letting me in on."

"Toph, it's nothing. I'm just I'm still shaken up a bit from a near death experience this morning." I put one hand on my hip, still facing the other way. I heard the small clack of her teeth clicking together. "You're upset it was Zuko who saved you and not Aang, aren't you?"

I swallowed.

"Well yeah, that's understandable isn't it? Tell me who you'd like to be saved by, Sokka or Azula?" Toph jumped a little bit, letting go of my hand and turning to me. "But this isn't about Sokka and Azula! Or even me! This is about you Katara." She then walked away, leaving me by the grave. The sun set on me, and I was left in the dark. My bones ached, struggling in the water took more out of me then I knew. The temple wasn't far away.

A warm hand grasped mine, and I stopped in my tracks.

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Ha! Cliffie. Well, you'll just have to wait until I feel like writing another chapter. Then again, I didn't really feel like writing this chapter. So maybe I'll get chap. 3 out quickly, to get it over with. Tell me what you thought.


	3. Fire and Ice

First of all, I want to tell you all how grateful I am for all your reviews. I'm glad you're enjoying it, regardless the fact I passionately dislike Avatar….I do love reviews, so they help me a lot. Another thing before I start, I'll tell you that if I did like Avatar I would be a Zutara, although everything in the story leans toward Kataang, I like Zuko and Katara better as a couple.

If you guys have any questions on anything that's weird in this story (the dead person perhaps) you may ask me, I don't bite. Tho, I may not know the answer, cuz I'm making this up as I go ).

I am very happy about the reviews, they make me feel like a good writer….which I'm not….heh. And all the hits I've gotten?! WOW! It's been what? Two days, and I have 454. Thank you all so much.

Zuko and Katara are being too nice to each other, let's spice things up. There, you may read now.

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The knuckles around my palm flexed a bit as they pulled me a bit closer, I couldn't feel my legs. I closed my eyes, suddenly in fear of who was behind me. But some part of me knew exactly who was holding my hand so ajar. Then he let go of my hand, only to step back a ways. I opened my eyes, spinning around threat remarks on my tongue. He stopped me before anything was uttered, putting one slender finger to my lips. I slapped it off. "How dare you even treat me this way! I'm no toy to be played with! Leave me alone!" I turned, appalled by what he had just done. I started to stomp off in the direction of the Western Air Temple, but my legs gave out underneath of me. I was imagining the taste of dirt as time seemed to slow down, just before my face would smack the earth. It never came. He slipped up around me and held his hands out as I came crashing down. I was caught. Awkwardly.

My pride had been dashed on the rocks.

My brow furrowed, and I let him pick me up and set me on the ground. Though it didn't help much, my legs were pretty much dead. When I wobbled at standing on my own legs, Zuko was just about to pick me up, but I stopped him.

"Don't treat me like a kid; I can walk on my own!" I yelled, feeling heat rush to my face as I took another step, bones screaming in protest.

"Well fine! Walk back to the Temple on your own then! Agh," Zuko said loudly, shaking his head. He started to walk away as I stood there, trying to bring the feeling back into my legs. I would make it back up to the temple, even if I had to crawl. The stream was just to the left of me, if I could get to it without spraining my legs further I could heal it. I stumbled over on hands and feet to the edge –one legged mind you. I sat down by the water and rest my leg on a rock, "Ow…ack," getting a splintered bone onto on a rock is a lot more painful than falling down.

The sound of footsteps was finally gone –Zuko was gone- so I felt better, and the night air was kind. I bended the water to my leg, and it glowed light blue, the water sunk into my calf, and relief followed it. Voices echoed down to me from the Temple, and I listened with care.

"Where's Katara?" That was Aang.

"Down by the stream….getting something to drink." ZUKO! I'M GONNA KILL YOU LATER! No scratch that, I'll kill you as soon as I get up there!

I got to my feet, the sounds of my scheming thoughts blocking out the rest of the conversation –though I bet you it was valuable information. I started to climb my way back up to the temple. It was tough, my leg was still slightly sore. I was half way up by the time Aang reached me. "Katara! Are you okay?" I nodded, smiling as I continued my way up. I finally reached the top, exhausted to the last drop of energy; I collapsed on a sleeping bag.

I would scold Zuko in the morning.

And that was the end of a very long day.

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"AGH! I'm so hungry! No food…..for eight hours….." The grumble of one stomach woke me up at last. I rubbed sleep away from my eyes, the crusty yellow stuff –mucus- at the base of my eye blocking everything up. I tried to get up, my arms aching with pain. I fell back down onto the mat. I heard a chuckle from behind me. Without looking I knew who it was.

"Oh, so you think it's funny I'm having trouble getting up, don't you PRINCE Zuko?!" I flew to my feet, wiping out my water and slapping him in the face with it. "That's for being retarded last night! Why don't you just leave me alone?! We all know you're going to betray us in the end anyway."

Zuko looked angry. I swiveled my neck a bit, as if saying 'try me'. I placed my hands on my hips, frown as stern as Zuko himself. "I'll be leaving then. I guess Aang –the master of all elements- can learn on his own from here." My jaw locked. Aang was down by the stream washing up, if he came back with Zuko gone, I'd be to blame. I could see Sokka out of the corner of my eye, and he was scooting out of the converse, edging himself behind a pillar.

"Zuko! Come on! Aang needs you! Without you, he can't vanquish the fire lord!" I called out, not moving an inch.

I scrunched my eyes closed, arms still resting at my hips.

But the voice that appeared in front of me next sent a shiver down my spine.

"I'll stay then."

His hands may be warm, but his voice was like ice at that moment. The heat of the day seemed to be nothing when those words were said to my face. He stepped away from me, and I opened my eyes, curling my hand into a fist. I thrust myself forward and I felt my fist hit something solid. His hand caught my throw. I felt my mouth drop open. "Agh!" I turned on my heel, and started to walk away, going down to the creek.

"Where are you going?!" Zuko yelled, the use of his words making my eye twitch.

"NONE OF YOUR BEES WAX!"

Sokka now cowered in the shadows, smart enough to stay away from me while my head was on fire. And it felt like that too. My cheeks were red, and a head ache echoed through my skull like a loud noise. I stomped my way down to the river. Toph and Aang were down at the creek when I got there –no amber eyes following me this time. Toph had her feet in the water; she splashed them back and forth. Aang dove into the large pool, only to rise up to the surface again and say hi to me.

"I'll join you!" I said, pulling my robe off. I jumped into the water, and enjoyed the warm water with Aang; all stress washing down over the rocks.

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Well there, hope you liked it. Tell me what you though…wow I'm getting annoying. Do what you please….as long as it includes pressing that BIG beautiful purple button. Ha, I loved making them fight.


	4. Blinding Fury

I'm super glad you all are enjoying my story, though it makes me wonder why you do like it, cuz I think you're insane as it is for even reading this story. Go ahead; keep reading anyways, I'm still going to write, for you guys. Dear Zutarians, I do hope you like this chapter; I'll sincerely try my best at making it funny, and compelling.

And there, you may go read, my Author's Notes keep getting bigger, so I'm trying to make them smaller….so that you can get onto the story sooner….yup.

I've decided to make this chapter in Zuko's POV (Point Of View) hope you like it more than I do.

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Steam rolled off my head, my long hair slightly damp from sweat. My teeth still gritted from the argument. It was plainly obvious where the girl had gone, to the stream. A small part of me wanted to spy and watch them talk; see if anything they said could be funny or valuable in the long run. No I wasn't going to use it against them, but it was nice knowing what they said behind my back.

Her brother was still back up against the stone pillar, watching me closely. "Wow that was scary," Sokka said, relaxing his stance. He got to his feet, and rolled his fishing line he had been holding the entire time. "Take my advice, stay away from her when her temper firers up, for your own safety." He then marched down over the hill, grabbed a thin wooden pole on the way from his bag. I pursed my lips, the constant energy of fire pumping through my body, I felt like having a bit of fun…weird.

I could hear distant screams and yelps from their water fight; I peeked over the ancient balcony. Katara was laughing lightly, grinning pleasantly at Aang while she bended some water to hit him in the face. I let out a small chuckle as Aang fell back into the deep water, as did she. I swallowed, it suddenly didn't feel safe…or right watching them like this. It was a strange feeling that hung over me like a dark cloud. It felt very wrong. But I kept asking myself, why did I feel this way? I've spied on people and their conversations before, but this definitely was different. They had never done anything to me. I had no reason to keep things from them.

I stepped away from the edge, remorse ringing through my burning skull. A large and alarming grumble sounded from the Bison, his teeth alone the size of giant watermelons. "What did I do?" I asked innocently, a growl still lingering in my tone. The animal said nothing more, only stared at me like large brown eyes. I sighed irritably, turning quickly, and running for the pathway down to the river.

I slid behind some nice bushes, concealing myself at first, and listening in.

"Sokka, where's Zuko?" Aang asked, of course, he'd be the only one to care at the very least.

"Up there, probably sulking loosing a fight to a girl," Sokka chuckled.

I rolled my eyes, shaking my head a bit.

Katara stayed quiet, but her expression was near wicked.

The earth bender sat on a dry rock next to the creek, still in water splashing range.

My longer hair blew gently in the cool breeze that swept in, blowing the sweet scent of Cherry Blossom trees along with it. There must be some nearby. The worst part of being here though, was the fact that nothing interesting was happening, besides Katara and I having little spats, all else was me teaching Aang how bend fire. Low key as it was.

I looked over at Toph, who was tapped her foot back and forth to some silent beat. She had noticed me when I came –hyper observant blind girl- but hadn't said anything to her friends. One thing about Toph, though she may know a lot, she kept it to herself for the good of other people, she was easy to around. Aang was a kind person –quite the opposite of myself actually- who never wanted to endanger his friends –obviously.

Sokka was a good brother, watching out for his sister and his friends simultaneously. He did eat a good amount, but he had his reasons for that also. Katara…..

Was a hard book to read, but I could tell from her unguarded feelings –most of them were held tight in her mind, unable to reach without care- that she was very protected. First, she had her several walls blocking her inner self, second, her water bending skills, Toph, Aang Sokka, and the many friends she had. But from what I could tell –from a distance- was that she was kind. Caring, and gentle when around people she loved. Her walls would instantly pop up when she met some one she didn't trust, and her heart was the hardest to reach if she didn't want to know you.

I narrowed my eyes, hardening them as if they were stone.

I had yet to figure myself out though, I still didn't know what my purpose was, or who I was.

All I knew was that I had a bad temper, jealousy was a given, and my insides burned with a hot fire –hotter than I was used to- when I felt pain….or something else…I couldn't place it.

I clenched my fist, the bones and veins sticking out as the pain spread throughout my body like a freezing fire. It reached my eye sight; I could hear the deafening noise of my heart beats in my ringing ears. I couldn't take it much longer.

My eyes went blurry, almost like they were covered with a clear gel that fogged everything up.

I turned and ran, partly blind. I stumbled a few times, but I could still see light. Until shade ran over me, I knew where I was at last, the scratched marble beneath my feet drawing closer as I hit the ground.

As cliché as this line is, I'm saying it. Everything went black.

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Weird huh? What did _you _think? I fairly happy with myself. If it bothered you, I aplogize if you think that Zuko has too girlie in this chapter. I wasn't really thinking when I wrote it...sort of in a daze...thinking about his pain while typing.

Zuko's very observant...or at least I making him that way. I don't watch the show. But if you have anything to correct me on, go ahead and tell, I'm uneducated in this subject...and I'd like to stay that way, so don't go on too much about it...my brain melted enough playing Guitar Hero for hours on end.


	5. Mai Day

Okay, so I see you guys REALLY like this story. It is much to my dismay, I must continue…ugh.

I'm sure you'd all love to hear me go on and ON about how much I hate it (in other words, yeah right) but I'd like to get this chapter other with. I'm going with my sister's advice, and you'll get to see the dealeo was with that body in the river. But I have no idea what I'm going to do, so I'm making this up as I go.

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ZPOV

I stumbled to a stone pillar, sliding down to the base of the large cylinder. I took a couple deep breaths, my eyes closed, afraid that it might have gotten worse. I gritted my teeth. Subtle steps drew closer to my ears, I might have been temporarily blinded, but my hearing sense was strong. I weighed the options in my head, trying to guess who it was that was following me. They had light but full steps, careful not to miss the earth as they walked up the path. It was some one much smaller. Not Sokka or Katara. It had to be, Aang, Toph, or Momo. I chuckled at that last one.

I lemur stalking me? Yeah right.

But then their voice came to my ear, I tensed up. The exact level of monotone had my heart leaping in seconds; I jumped to my feet, and embraced the figure. "Mai!" She laughed lightheartedly at my neck, giving it a small kiss.

"Good to see you too," Mai said, just a bit of happiness in her apathetic tone. I opened my eyes, the blurriness dissipating. I pulled away from her, placing either hand on her shoulders. "What are _you _doing here?" I asked quite rudely, amber eyes searching her expression. She only laughed a bit more, pushing me to the ground, and sitting down next to me. "I came to find you."

I swallowed, straightening up. "Maybe you should go then…"

She stared at me, slightly offended.

"I mean! The Avatar and _his friends _will think I'm plotting with you or something." Mai's face turned hard.

"Is that why you're here? Helping the Avatar? You know, Azula will be very disappointed in you."

I clenched my teeth down.

"Who cares about Azula?" Mai's eyes narrowed at that.

"Who cares? Are you turning against her and the _entire _fire nation?! To teach the Avatar fire bending? Is that what you're telling me?!"

I looked down at her, my eyes turning to ice. Anger comes before any other thought. "That's exactly what I'm telling you."

Mai ripped away from me, and I instantly regretted saying it. "Wait! Mai! You have to listen to me!" She was stomping over the hill, where she had a large bird stationed. I tried not to gawk as I continued yelling. "The fire lord has no thought of keeping any of the other nations alive! If the Avatar doesn't beat him, _no _one will."

She stopped for a second, thinking it over.

"So, you're doing this to help _other _nations? What about me?" Underneath all the hard, alabaster skin, she was sensitive, that was very strange in Mai's case. I sighed, keeping my voice level when I spoke to her. "I'm doing this because I….care for you. I wouldn't do it if I thought it'd hurt you." I took her hand gently, anger pulsing through my veins, I had it reined in though. Something in her vision made her slap me, and she flew off, still screaming at me.

"Next time you lie to me, MAKE IT GOOD!"

I stood, dumbstruck, and fuming.

I heard foot steps clearly, coming up behind me. "Zuko! Who was that?" Katara's unstressed voice shattered my remains of control, I snapped internally. I flipped around, every pore in my body steaming. I bended some fire in anger's wake, it ripped across the air, it hit Katara. Everything went black in my mind. Several unnamed emotions flitted in my face. I didn't know what they were, but they certainly didn't belong to me. She burned easily, though her body was still wet from the stream, she got burned, badly. Time seemed to slow down…..

She ran down to the river, pain streaked over her face. Sokka charged up to me, anger blowing out of his ears (not literally of course). Sokka raised his arm, about to clobber me over the head with his, cane thingy. I dodged easily, several things running through my mind at once. One, Katara would be fine, she can heal herself. Two, Sokka has bad aim. Three, MAE!

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	6. Air Bender

-------100 years ago------

"Come on Aang! Let's play air ball!"

"Okay! I'm coming!"

I glided over to one of my best buddies, Tysu. He started to knock the ball over to me; I could hear some one calling my name from a great distance away. "Aang! Time for training! air ball later!" The ball smacked my head with force; I should have at least been paying enough attention to the flying ball as to catch it. I sighed, picking the ball up off the ground, and walking it back over to Tysu. "Not now I guess, but I'll meet you back by the rooms, 'kay?" Tysu just smirked a bit with a childish chuckle, "Whatever. Have fun."

Tysu _was _my best friend, I could never betray him….that's why, when I left, so mad at myself….he was the one I was sorry for not telling. I should have, I know it….but in turn, he would have reported it to the master, and also knowing it was the right thing to do. Though, don't get me wrong, we weren't the couple perfect little students, we'd had to rouse anger and confusion every once and a while.

_SMASH! _

A flowerpot crashed to the floor right outside Master Gensu's room, my feet h8it the ground, to find themselves scampering away in fright. "Great job Tysu!" I breathed as we took cover behind the broom closet door. Tysu gave me a strictly serious face. "It's your fault he found out! If you had just put the ingredient in like I told you!" I snapped a bit, letting out a small chuckle.

"It was a pretty lame prank anyways, you know?" I said thoughtfully, smiling brightly. Tysu slapped my back starting to laugh too, "You're right. It was lame. But you know he loves that flower, he'll kill us anyway…." I scrunched my lips up to the side of my face.

"Hey! Who broke my flower?!"

"RUN!"

-------

Without Tysu, my days at the Western Air temple would have been boring, so I owe him much thanks….if only I had to see him ever again. It was like knowing I could have played with him much longer, but Iran away. It _was_ like that. It was all my fault. I wondered to myself if Tysu ever got away from the fire nation when they attacked….if they attacked then, why wouldn't they be able to now? It doesn't seem likely that they would know we were here…but still. I thought I heard Katara mumbling about that girl Mai, had she been here? To see Zuko? Was keeping Zuko here with us a good idea?

And then talk about Katara….

What was with her?

She's been acting so strange lately, so…indecisive. So….angry. I've seen her fight before, but never so fiercely. It's like she'd _like _to actually kill Zuko or something, goodness, man does she hate that guy. What could be bothering her? Was it _me_? Did it have to do anything with me? Was I the problem in this picture? Did she like Zuko more then…_me_?

I turned over in my bed, contemplating. Rolling things around in my head, trying to solve mysteries seemingly unsolvable. What would be the consequences if she _did _like him, is she _did _love him…more than me. I would brake apart, yes I would….but maybe knowing it was her choice…..oh I don't know!

It's not my fault! It's not my….problem. I can't change he feelings if she does like him, so giving up would be the only option…..or to find some one else near and dear…but who else do I love? No one in my mind seems to fit the beautiful picture I've painted. Katara _is _that beautiful picture. And so, I would suffer if she didn't choose me, but the thing is, it's almost impossible for her to fall in love with the man she so bitterly dislikes, so…I should be safe.

----------------------Next morning, still APOV----------------------

"Aang! Come on, let's go brush up on your fire bending, you haven't practiced in a while," Zuko said, washing the sleep from his face with a damp rag. He grumble something as Katara threw a small curse of her lips, but continued walking down the hill, trying to find some where _quiet _to practice I assumed. My eyes widened as we approached his chosen area. I chuckled, "I didn't know Katara knew or said that word."

So in conclusion to this subject, I would think that Katara loves me, not Zuko. If not, I have faith she'll pick the right one. The right one for her. Though Zuko won't be the right one. I'll fight for those I love.

_SINGE._

"Pay attention Aang, we're going to have a little fight, no earth bending, water bending, or air bending, just what you know of fire bending, got it? And if you don't pay attention, you'll have Katara healing you up, and searing down into your ear as she wraps you in tight bandages. I will not give mercy freely." Zuko gave me the rules quickly, and our practice began.

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Do you guys want me to write their practice fight? I'm not that good at fighting scenes, so you'd just have to do with the kind of fighting I had going on in Shadow of a Doubt and The surface (not that you guys ever read those fan fics) but if you did, you'd know what I was talking about. Anyway! I really hope you liked this chapter, and don't worry; Tysu has a point too, just like everything I write does. BYEZ!

R&R I wouldn't want to threaten you into it, but I do enjoy review, whether or not they're good, honest opinions rock! ---even for those horrible fan fics I hate (this fan fic I do hate, but reviews are nice anyway.)


	7. Wandering Thoughts

Okay just to warn you all, I've never done a firebender fight, second warning, I've never really liked writing battle scenes, tho getting bloody is easy for me. I'll do my best, get this over with. I really do hope you like it. I even did some Youtube research for this one. Hopefully that pays off….for all the avatar I had to study…

Fire benders use a popular form of kung fu, called northern Shoalin Kung fu, they have some really cool vids of it on Youtube so you might wanna check that out.

KPOV

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The sounds of a fight drifted up the mountain, reaching my ears and causing me to jump. Oh, it was only Zuko and Aang practicing. But it sounded more like combat; better go make sure they hadn't gotten into a fight. Though picturing Aang starting a fight for no good reason didn't come to me. Slipping out of Sokka's sight, I crept down the path, staying out of obvious sight. When I came at level with the gruff grunts of bending and power, I kneeled behind some deep bushes.

Fire was flying in circular swirls above me. The heat was at least tripled, and my skin just about chapped off completely at its dry temperature. Aang thrust his arms forward in powerful moves, sending waves of unkempt fire toward Zuko. He quickly dodged out of the way, stepping cleanly to the side, looking more professional than I had ever seen him. Both half-naked boys looked absolutely caught in the moment, their faces locked, watching each other's eyes, hard and cold. Zuko stepped forward, jutting his fists out with such force, taking in more air to capture the fire inside him. His muscles rippled lightly as his arms moved slowly about him. I had no idea he was that thick!

The fire burst from his mouth and headed in a straight line for Aang. I wanted to warn my Aang for the trouble headed his way. Caution the seemingly helpless boy on the other side…..but I held still, watching the barrel of fire tunnel at him.

Move Aang. MOVE!

He didn't, instead, he threw out another great ball of fire at the last second, which clashed with Zuko's attack, disappearing. Aang shot out and instant blast of fire at Zuko scrapping past his arm. I jumped. Zuko didn't waste a second. He was airborne in that moment, his foot aimed at Aang, arms set in at his sides, and he then thrust his fists out, fire coming out with them, going for Aang. He dodged, jumping high in the air, but still not using his air bending skills. His large Air bender lungs pulled in a deep breath, then pushed it out as a huge fire move, blowing straight back at Zuko.

Zuko agilely rolled over in time, quickly regaining his footing when the fire burned past. His feet scrapped against the dirt as he pushed off once again, pouncing for Aang, shoving more fire into his face with great force. Aang sat on the ground, defeated by the last attack, a disappointed expression lightly coating his face. He perked up immediately as Zuko walked over to him.

"That was awesome! I did try my best, but it looks like that wasn't good enough to beat you! Ha! I'll try harder next time anyway," Aang laughed, dusting the light dirt off his pants. He replaced his shirt over his thin build and turned back to Zuko, who putting his shirt back on…thank goodness.

When my mind returned from the deep pit it had been in –the low one, that makes me want to run and hide….when I start thinking about _him-_ I remembered that if I was seen, I would regret it greatly. I snuck back up the hill, afraid that I could get caught in all this, that would be bad, very bad. I took a safe place next to Toph, engaging in a safe conversation with her, safely.

The boy's hurriedly made their way back up here; I guess they weren't ones to talk much after a battle. As for me, I pretended I had not known they were having a match. Btu in the back of my mind, something crawled there, lowly, darkly. And I wanted to kill it. Whatever it was. I hated it. If only I could figure out what it was.

"Hey Katara! You should've seen our fight! It was so cool!" Aang expressed animatedly, throwing his arms out as he gave out a great deal of details about their fight. "It was so amazing! Zuko's really fast, caught me off guard," He said.

As the night wore on, I would find my eyes wandering over to the fire bender, just slightly scanning over his shirt, sort of imagining those muscles….NO! I'm not guilty of such a crime! I hate that man!

"Hey, Katara are you okay? You seem kinda weird," Sokka asked looking over at me. His question sort of echoed through the temple, everyone's eyes were suddenly on me, even Toph's. I shook my head quickly, continuing the sewing I had been doing on Sokka's shirt. "I'm fine, nothing to worry about." Boy that was a mighty lie. I needed sleep. Yes, that's all, sleep. My strange emotions will pass over.

"I'm going to bed. Goodnight everyone. Goodnight Aang."

"Goodnight Katara," Aang said happily, smiling his boyish smile.

-------------5 hours later-----------------

"Hey Aang, You awake?" Zuko?

"Yup. What's wrong?" Aang replied, curious of course. My sleepy eyes drifted open, but couldn't stay that way for long, so they went shut once more. I listened in carefully.

"That body in the stream….did you know that person?"

"Gee, I don't know, maybe…did one of your ancestors?"

A long pause came.

"Well...the truth is…he was killed by the fire nation. I'm sure of it…and I was just wondering if I owed you anything for it," His voice was still the strong Zuko holding in every helpless emotion he might conjure up. Emotionless tone of voice, he was good at keeping it.

"I don't recall anything."

"Good."

Aang might have been waiting for him to say something more, but he started to give off a small breathing sound a few minutes later.

"Goodnight Zuko…."

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Okay that was weird, but I'll stitch it up so just wait. I'm trying to get this story wrapped up (cuz I have a problem with dragging stories on, which is the opposite of rushing things…heh.) If any of you think it's weird for Zuko to ask such crazy things of Aang, just wait. And remember, I don't know Zuko that well, and I hate Avatar so, yeah, I'm doing what I can.

I hope the battle was good enough.


	8. Melody of a Spy

Okay so, hopefully I can finish up this story soon. It's pulling all my other stories back, and stuff I really want to do. Anyway, enough of me complaining. Don't think that Katara will fall so quickly for him, from what I know, she's a very stubborn girl, so is Sokka. So this should take a while (great). Zuko stubborn too, so he's not ready to admit his love for her either, they're both fighting (Zuko less than her).

Enjoy.

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ZPOV

I gave off a doubtful expression, looking to Aang, wondering if this was completely safe. He wore a smile the size of his flying Bison; taking position on the mat he had placed on the ground. "Come on Zuko! Let's slide!" I looked around the area, trying to find a distraction, something to supposedly 'distract' me.

"Come on!" He yelled excitedly.

"You know what Aang, I have important stuff to do," I just left. Not sparing his feelings. I walked back to the temple, leaving Aang on the mat at the top of a very large hill. Very smooth, steep hill. I entered back under the light shade of the temple, and slid down next to a pillar. Sokka sat next to his little fire, roasting his fish, rubbing his hands to together and licking his lips, eyeing the fish with utter hunger. And that Earth bender was sitting way over by the entrance, sitting cross legged, meditating or something. Katara was no where to be found. Not that I wanted to find her.

She was a strange girl, always so, unsure of herself. Seemingly insecure. Well, that's the way I saw it anyway. I could see her watching us yesterday. What was she doing? Watching Aang? She's mentally disabled. What if she had gotten hurt?! With our fire flying it could've burned her! I grumbled under my breath, folding my arms over my chest. She was mixed up. So…hard to understand. Like she was speaking a different language. Like she was from another planet. Mai had never been like that. She always spoke my language and acted like a human…well sort of. Mai was always…I can't name it. Cold. Yeah she showed affection but…no…resistance. There was attraction, but it was so easily bought. So easily held, so easily pleased.

"Hey! Zuko! Where's Katara?" Toph asked, looking over towards me. Sokka looked up too, raising an eye brow.

I narrowed my eyes, sudden anger rising up in me, heat filled my lungs, and I felt it in my face. "You suspect me to know?! I'm not her keeper! Go find her yourself!" I screamed, feeling my amber eyes dilate. Sokka looked mad. Toph rolled her eyes, as if saying, "Drama queen."

"Go find her! I'm busy eating…" Sokka demanded, leaning into the small fire, picking at the fish –which resembled a piece of coal by now.

I glared at him, but he wasn't paying attention. So I got to my feet, throwing out swear words in a long, inaudible note. I shuffled down the hill, heading down towards the stream. What if she was doing something private? Like take a bath? I'd be killed. Cold blooded murder, by a Water bender…if I let her. Although it would be entertaining to see her do this in a robe….with nothing else underneath it.

I internally punched myself for that, but I couldn't stop my wandering mind, it was pretty bad. By the time I got down there, I had beaten down that wild animal inside me –the lecherous man that I truly was- and ducked behind a bush. Why I ducked behind a bush, was beyond me. But it was instinct that told me I should. I could hear something melodic. Very…soothing. Beautiful. Like waves of soft, blue sounds, gently lulling and yet slightly withdrawn, like it was scared to be found out. I silently followed this sound. It pulled me in, relaxing my eyelids and calming me. I peeked through the bushes.

On the good side of things, I had found Katara. On the partly bad side, she was the one singing. On the sort of good, mildly bad side, she was in a swim suit. She sat in the creek, leaning against a large rock at the edge. Swirling bubbles of water surrounded her, startlingly glowing faintly, giving off a small light around her. It almost seemed like she was singing to make them glow. To make them float in the air like that, above her. But I knew she was water bending, so effortlessly. She was really good.

Somehow, the sky had darkened by now, turning into a shadowy twilight, covering me and Katara in it's strange light. I kept on watching her. Another thing, why was I watching her like this? Was it that eerie melody she sung? The bubbles of water? Or was it something else…NO! No it wasn't that. I did let my mind wander too much. If Sokka knew….he'd beat me to a pulp…yeah right. Like I'd let him.

Suddenly, she noticed me. "Who's there?" I hadn't been making any noise, but if she caught me now, she'd definitely think much worse of me. More worse than she already had anyway. I heard the water splash, and lots of dripping, she had gotten out of the pool. Her watery footsteps drew near to my hiding place. How had she heard me? Had I said something without realizing it?

All I knew was that now, she knew of my presence.

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Haha…Zuko's been caught in action. She'll kill him…no wait…just wait and see what happens. Hope you liked it.


	9. Dishonor and Water

Yeah I've been planning to finish this story soon. I've got a lot of time available it seems, so I'm _planning _on sitting one day and punched it out. Hopefully. But I will finish it some time soon…hopefully. Like I said.

Kay so I decided to get on with the next chapter already, you readers can go ahead and be shocked that I'm updating so quickly. lol okay.

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ZPOV

If there was one word to describe the look of pure shock, hatred and utter anger in her face, I might have used it as a swear word at that moment.

She stood over my crouched position, glowering down at me, water subtly dripping down her legs and arms. I half expected the water to evaporate from the heat of her anger. I got to my feet, trying to regain my stunned expression. As I stood, her eyes watched me closely, until she had to look _up _to glare at me. I glanced down at her two-piece swimsuit, it was tight to her curvy body, I blinked that picture away. With a wave of her hand all the water that had been cascading down her body whipped out of the way, leaving her white dry. Her fingers curled and clenched into fists, I found my legs frozen to their spot. Literally.

I let fire roll down my feet, melting the ice away. "What do you want Katara?! I'm just here for your stupid brother! He sent me you know!" The words I had for my defense didn't seem as strong as they had in my head. And I had a horrible cold feeling in my stomach, like these words were only making it worse.

Suddenly, her fist met my cheek. Then pain. Something hot dribbled down over my upper lip, which felt and tasted like blood, but I kept perfectly still, for what reason seemed strange. She pulled back her fist for another shot. Why wasn't she using Water to slap me, instead of manual strength? Well I had had enough. When she forced her fist at me this time, I caught that hand, stopped it completely. A look of slight alarm ran over her face once more.

"Katara…." Anger built in my chest, burning like fire through my muscles, uncontrollable. It started at my shoulder, lighting a fire that burnt like it was lit with lamp oil, spreading down my arm, reaching Katara's hand I still gripped. Would I stop it from burning her? _Could _I stop it? The anger…it ate at me…I wanted so badly to show her who knew better. To show her who was stronger. To make her cower at my power, to make her kneel and beg for forgiveness. The fire was climbing, twisted around my arm, very strong as it burned even my shirt sleeve. Her other hand was free. She tried thrashing more ice at me, trying to make me let go. But it made the fire thicken, my frustration bending out into the flames.

Whatever she did would not stop it. Only I could. Time seemed to peel out before me; it was going so slowly, as my bruised face turned softer, more strained. I tried to stop it. My weaker emotions took over. Part of me was screaming into my ear, "No! Zuko! You can kill her right here! She was dishonoring you! You should give her death! She deserves it!" Yet, there was that softer voice, which didn't sound a thing like me, gently pulling me into stopping the fire from burning her. It was just about there…

"Zuko stop. Come on, you know you love her. You can't let this hurt her. If it did, you would never forgive yourself…." That gentle voice said in my ear.

I made up my mind, just as the flames licked around my own knuckles, just about to spread out over hers. "Stop!" I yelled, like a sudden extinguisher for the impenetrable flames. Katara looked sort of frightened. Why shouldn't she be? I had had just been fighting with myself whether or not to let her live. I let go of her fist, flipping around at once so as not to meet her face.

I left her there, charging off in a different direction, not in the mood to have Sokka yell at me. I kept my head looking forward and walked fast out over towards the cliffs. But that eating feeling still chewed at my insides, burning in the back of my mind. I finally stopped stomping off when I got to small spot, private and hidden out of the way. I carefully ran a hand over my black eye and bleeding nose, the cheek below my eye was bruised as well. However she'd gotten to hit so many places at once was definitely beyond me. Far, far beyond me. But I didn't care much anymore, that cold feeling was still there, I wanted to get rid of it.

What if I had hurt her?

What if my own rage had been the cause of her death?

My resentment against her had died down over the few days…which wasn't too good in my book, but suddenly a good thing today. If it had been a couple weeks ago, I would have killed her. Right there, on the spot. But now, I didn't feel like going back to the temple either. That would be…pride dashing. My pride seemed like the largest things right now, if I went back now –if I went back at all- my pride would surely suffer.

Should I go back? Or would everyone just be beating down on me the whole time…?

Well one thing is for sure, I'm not going back tonight. I'll make my decision tomorrow or something. Right now, my pride will be lowered for having to sleep out here like this…but of course, when I was banished from the castle (grits teeth) that pretty much destroyed what was left of my pride. And then being cast out of all of it with my Uncle….that smothered what was left. So I guess I've gotten some back from that time. So if I went back to the campsite up in the temple now, what would be left?

Night was falling. Stars were blinking into my sight. The moon raised above me, its crescent shape there in the black of the sky. I sighed heavily.

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Okay so, there you go. Now don't think me horrible for this chapter. Zuko has to think this out sooner or later. Besides he's not dumb, he has a brain, I'm just making him use it. Now that some things have come up for him, he's trying to figure them out :P

Kay, bye.


	10. Not so silent, Silent Intruder

So I have returned. I know you guys are probably dying to hear what's happening (some of you :P) so I'm here to write it out. I'm glad you guys like it anyway. You know, I decided I would take the time to put in a song for this chapter, so I hope you like that too.

For you Kim )

_**Unbreakable, Fireflight**_

_  
Where are the people that accuse me? The ones who beat me down and bruise me. They hide just out of sight, can't face me in the light. They'll return but I'll be stronger._

God, I want to dream again, take me where I've never been. I want to go there. This time I'm not scared. Now I am unbreakable, it's unmistakable. No one can touch me, nothing can stop me.

Sometimes it's hard to just keep going, but faith is moving without knowing. Can I trust what I can't see to reach my destiny? I want to take control, but I know better.

God, I want to dream again, take me where I've never been. I want to go there. This time I'm not scared. Now I am unbreakable, it's unmistakable. No one can touch me, nothing can stop me.

Forget the fear, it's just a crutch, that tries to hold you back and turn your dreams to dust. All you need to do is just trust

God, I want to dream again, take me where I've never been. I want to go there. This time I'm not scared. Now I am unbreakable, it's unmistakable. No one can touch me, nothing can stop me. God, I want to dream again, take me where I've never been. I want to go there. This time I'm not scared. Now I am unbreakable, it's unmistakable. No one can touch me, nothing can stop me.

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KPOV

I was…very surprised.

I watched him stock off in another direction, walking so fast it was almost a run. I just stood there, until he disappeared. The first thought that came to mind was this: Is he coming back?

Shouts from the temple above called me out of that shocked trance. "Katara!" It was Sokka his cracking voice aired over the edge of the cliff, screaming my name over all the hills far away. Surely it was even loud enough for Zuko to hear…wherever he was. "Where are yoooou?!" Sokka yelled again, I felt my face turn hot with sudden frustration.

"I'm right here you dimwit!" I screamed back, replacing my shock with a little anger. I charged up the hill, gripping my fist tightly, holding in my other emotions. My hair had dried, leaving little frizzes everywhere; I hated it, all stark and hard, like some hard liquid had gone through it. Toph and Sokka seemed surprised to of my appearance. "Are you happy now? I'm here!" I said angrily. Whether I admit or not, Zuko was on mind.

I then continued to stomp over to my sleeping sack, plopping myself down on it, not minding to change out of my swimsuit. I crawled into the cloth bag, and scrunched my eyes shut. I forced all pictures of Zuko's face that night, sleep stayed far away from me. The moon was high and bright, leaking light into the temple halls, the warm breeze blowing in. Sokka had gone to bed at last, after brewing over his annoyance of my ignorant shouts. I pulled the blanket up to my nose, covering my face. I battled with my stubborn emotions, a war going on in my mind, swords clashing and hearts breaking. I tried to shut the angry pictures out. That infuriated look upon Zuko's face…his golden eyes glaring hatred and indecisive thoughts…admittedly frightened me.

Analyzing over it, its predictable Zuko's not coming back. After all, he's the one to put his pride before anyone else. It even took all of him to put himself lower and take Aang as a pupil. It's amazing his arrogance lasted this long in such conditions.

I grumbled under my breath, the thoughts of his idiocy didn't help my sleeping troubles right now. Sokka's palpable snores flew through the air now, now that he had finally gotten way under his sleep, they came it loud, clear snorts. Toph was unusually quiet. Most of the time, her and Sokka's snores would ring in an extravagant chorus together. Toph's reigned stronger always. Aang had gotten home late that night, spending the whole afternoon sliding down many hills, depraved of a partner. I should have gone with him…but Zuko…retarded fool. He was between me and be with Aang. Of course, it _was _my decision to go down to the stream…alone. So I guess I have no one to blame this time. Just myself. All the same, Aang slept peacefully now, sleeping heavily, as he always.

Besides Sokka's loud snores, I could hear the stream below, and the peepers and frogs gathered around the water, croaking out in their own song. The wind was calm tonight, warm and easy to take in. Sounds were easily heard in the vicinity. That's how I heard the footsteps. Heavy sounds of clopping boots, sweeping dust across the scratched marble floors. I felt my body stiffen, these were not footsteps of an ally. They were hidden, unpronounced. Trying to stay quiet. Had Zuko gone to get reinforcements? Had he finally turned on us like I had so foresee him doing?

My only answer was yes. Yes he had gone and turned on us. Telling the fire nation of our hideout. The footfall drew closer, seemingly heading for me. Either that, or it was all inside my head. But the sounds were too real, the shadows of the person were right above me. They must've either found out I was awake, or decided to kill me first, but I was undoubtedly scared.

Yet there was another possibility this was Zuko, trying to freak me out, or maybe he even decided to kill me himself. Oh wait…if he had gone to get the fire nation he would have already decided to kill me. Heh. So which was it? Was this Zuko's doing?

I couldn't decide at that moment, but the man that was standing over me did so instead of me.

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R&R I guess


	11. Captive of Some Sorts

I feel better now. Since I was brainstorming the other night, I figured out how I was going to finish this story. Thank God that's a load off my plate. (I had no idea what story I was going to write even when I started this story.) So, I hope you like it. 

Here we go. Your guess is as good as mine. 

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The steps drew nearer; my heart thudded hard in my chest. All the others seemed to be off in their own dream worlds. They were safe from this menace that haunted above me. I could now hear his breathing, deep and throaty; its smell resembled the scent of blood. Salty and metal-like smell. Disgusting. 

Big, muscled arms reached down towards me, I rolled out of the way, staying quiet. I grabbed my bottle of water, whipping ice out at him. It was melt even before it touched him. His eyes grew dark. It was not Zuko. It was a thug. Sent by some one of the higher-ups I was guessing. His purely evil grin lashed across his face, showing me that he was not afraid. I opened my mouth, taking in a deep breath for a scream. It would be easier to fight if the others knew of my danger. But he was too quick. Either that or I was too slow, which would be absurd. I'm fast. He was just faster.

One large hand clamped over my mouth, I struggled under his weight. He pulled a long, scarlet scarf and a small mango fruit from his pocket, slowly, his slipped the fruit into my mouth (stopping me form talking) and then tied the scarf firmly around my mouth. My nose was free, but if I did any seriously jerking, the fruit would clog in my throat. Smart man. 

He then picked me (careful not to throw me around too much, he was thinking about that fruit in my mouth. Obviously, the person who sent him wanted to alive.) I was laid over his shoulder, unable to do anything. I could only look back at my friends and hope they wouldn't get caught in this mess. 

Why hadn't I acted sooner?

I felt dumb for not springing up out of bed and attacking him when I had the chance. If only I hadn't been thinking everything over so thoroughly, maybe I would've had time to take him down. Then I could've questioned him about his 'owner'. But, alas, I am hanging on his shoulder, waiting for something to happen, with the sun rising slowly; already quite far away form my companions. Wow, this is a mess. 

"So, Miss, what is your name?" 

His voice startled me, I had not been expecting him to talk to me. Though asking questions was a dense idea, I had my mouth covered. Oh, and I forgot to mentioned that my wrists were tied securely, and my ankles also, tied with some sort of metal rope. He chuckled a bit, "Oh yes, I forgot, you can't talk with that fruit in your mouth." He set me down on a large rock (the rock was about half the height of him, so I would be trying to roll off…) then he carefully untied to scarf. I then prominently spit the mango out, coughing. 

He handed me a handkerchief, I looked at it for a minute, then wiping my mouth with it. 

"What is your name? Or shall I call you, Miss?" He asked calmly, crouching down to be at eye-level with me.

This guy was nuts. "What do you want with me?" I demanded, thinking about trying to bend my saliva with my tied hands. 

"Oh. No need to be crabby. I mean, I might have got you out of bed late at night, but that's not my fault," He said innocently. 

"Then who sent you?" I said my voice hard, I was really mad. Of course, you'd be mad too. 

"Oh, I see now. Well, you see, my sender told me not to tell you. She didn't even tell me your name, so, I'd really liked to know." 

Oh, so it was a she. Maybe Azula, but how could she find us? Mai! That witch, she told Azula! Well, we should have seen it coming, it was predictable. Since she found us, and she was mad at Zuko, it's obvious she'd try to get back at him. Or maybe it's just Mai working on her own, and trying to get back at Zuko…by taking me? What does that mean? Does she think Zuko likes me! What did that boy say to her! 

Either this guy was molester and he was lying, or he was just…weird. Asking me these questions and trying to get friendly, it was…unnerving I have to admit. He continued to watch me silently; my facial expression must have been confusing. "My name is Katara, from the Southern Water tribe." I finally answered, looking down at the ground. What did it matter if he had my name? 

He could kill me with, or without my name, so it really didn't matter at this moment. And another obvious thing was, Mai hadn't given him my name…so she didn't want him to know, or didn't need him to know. The man smiled. 

"Good. Now I'll tell you what you want to know. I need to complete my mission of retrieving you back to my _master _so that she'll free my family. Got it? My name is Gonzo. Nice to meet you, Katara of the water tribe," He shook both of my hands, since they were bound together. 

I had been held captive before, and it had been much more ruthless, this was different. Not necessarily being 'captive' more like, just _taken _away. He said some more words, although I was deaf to them. Then I was back on his shoulder, and marched off into the unknown. 

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Okay. There. I'm done. 


	12. Frustrations

ZPOV

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After a night away from her, I got over it. 

I was ready to admit it. I know it felt slightly wrong…but I felt…resolved. Free. Open, well…not exactly open, I was still very uncertain, but coming to a conclusion helped clear up some questions. And to think, I could get this way after a night completely alone. 

I moved swiftly across the plain of dirt, there wasn't much green life out here since the fire benders raid. All those people that were killed. Another unpleasant thought. This was horrible! I felt like I was some goody-two shoes little boy! Unknowing to my own idiocy! Like …Aang. He deserved to know though, I believed that. It would be a passing statement, but I'd tell him, regardless his reaction, I had to return to them all. I had to come back to Katara, and find out how to make her love me. If that was possible. Such a stubborn girl. I doubt she felt that way towards me, but I found it quite clear to me now. 

All these _feelings _they…licked uncomfortably around my stomach. I didn't like them. I didn't know them. I hardly knew myself anymore. I didn't know why I was doing this, let alone how fast this had attacked me. All I knew, was that some one was screaming at me. Loud. 

"Zuko! This is all your fault, isn't it? I knew we shouldn't have trusted you!" It was the brother of Katara's…Sokka.

I gritted my teeth, lack of sleep showed on my face. I had stayed up late, _thinking. _Toph walked up to me, almost casually punching me. Hard. "What did you do with her? We know you did something! You two were fighting last night," Toph confronted. Aang came up behind Toph and Sokka, looking hurt in some ways. Like trust had been the victim here. 

"What's makes you think I did it?…whatever _it _is. And what makes you think I'd do whatever it is and come back? To somehow prove I didn't do it…what is it?" I was sincerely wondering what was wrong. Their look of accusation that rested on me softened a tiny bit, though Sokka's only hardened with anger. He was about to literally attack me with his club thingy but Toph stopped him. "He's telling the truth." 

Sokka stopped abruptly. 

"Then what? Did you provoke her into leaving?" Toph asked, getting there before Sokka and/or Aang could say anything to me. 

"She's gone!" 

All three of them stopped this time. "Go after her! If she's gone, we shouldn't be here! Go after her!" I screamed, my lone voice echoing through the seemingly empty temple. They were still. Aang stepped up towards me, and Toph backed off. 

"She covered her trace. Either that or someone came and took her themselves. There is a strange scent Momo doesn't like," Aang said, his face glum. I walked over to the lemur, bending down next to him. I felt a demand rise in my throat, but I held it back. Man, changing over night doesn't exactly work does it? All three of their eyes were on my back, wondering what the heck I must be doing. My pride was still at large, in the back of my mind, and I kept it safe, standing up again. "What scent?" I nearly snapped, darting my eyes over at Sokka for a second. Sokka looked at me grudgingly. 

"Why do you care about her anyway? You're always sulking off and yelling at her!" Caring Sokka, loves his sister, I wouldn't know what that feels like. 

"Because, I…I care. Who else is going to disagree with everything I say? Appa!" I was fuming, this was all I needed. Some much on my plate, and now, Sokka, overreacting? Oh, wait, I was the one overreacting. I turned over to Aang, although I knew now wasn't the best time to break the news to him, I had to _now. _I walked over to the entrance of the Temple, where I picked up my measly amount of belongings. "Aang, I must tell you now. The fire nation killed your friend in a raid. That's why it's so desolate around here, all the plant life was killed off by the fire. I remember your friend from the stories my sister used to yell in my face, gloating about the fire nation's power. He was strong and determined, he tried to stop the raid, but the fire got the best of him. My own ancestors cold blooded murdered him. That was your friend, in that stream down there. I'm even surprised his body preserved that long." I finished icily, turning away. 

Aang was frozen to his spot, and Sokka and Toph only seemed colder than before. "Do you really think it was the right time to bring that up? When Katara's gone and Aang's worried?" Toph asked rationally, keeping a level voice and straining back her anger. I shook my head back at her. 

"I have to now, or there won't be a chance to," I said. Sokka looked at me, confused. "I'm going to go after Katara, stay here; you'll only get in my way." 

Sokka growled, "You don't even know her! You're just a fire bending freak! Leave my sister alone!" He screamed, glaring at me. 

Aang was quiet. But I could feel pain emanating from him, he was trying to hold it back, but it was an unsuccessful attempt. "You killed Tysu!" Aang cried out, his face growing contorted with every word. Sheer grief plastered across his expression. "How could you! I knew you the fire nation attacked here….but! Couldn't you let him go? He wasn't going to hurt anyone! He wouldn't, he wouldn't!" Aang had uncontrollable pain stricken over him. It was a cause of loosing Katara so soon, and having me here, messing thigns up. It was expected. Sokka was even more upset now, growling me out of the temple, practically stabbing me in the back with a sword. 

Aang was on his knees, anger and hate surging through him, it wouldn't be long until he officially blew up and attacked me from his hatred. I ditched. 

I didn't run like a little baby, like I was afraid of an Air Bender's wrath, come on. I just went. Slowly and surely, knowing what I was doing. Getting out of there. The air had been too thick, hard to breathe in, but now, following this kidnapper's repulsive trail down the mountain, I could breathe. He hadn't been to sly about making his escape, go figure, so he was quite stupid. But to be able to shut Katara up and drag her away, I'd give him a pat on the back, he must have been smart enough to get her out of there without anyone else knowing. 

And so I went onward, trying to find her…Katara.

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Sorry Zuko was weir din this one. But I had to wrap things up in some way. Couple more chapters to go! Then I'll be free! (I did not go over and edit this, why would I want to read it?) 


	13. Guilty of Undone Crime

Well if you haven't noticed, this website's Document Manager has gotten really crappy with that new upgrade they put in, now i

**Well if you haven't noticed, this website's Document Manager has gotten really crappy with that new upgrade they put in, now it changes all my stories and takes away certain things, like bars and italics. ANNOYING! I hate it forever. **

**Just read, I'm upset.**

KPOV (During Zuko's quest to find her)

"Hello, Miss Katara?"

That unfamiliar voice that sounded above me did not totally take me by surprise, though half of my conscience was telling me I knew it. I was a bit confused. He kept talking to me, telling me weird things. "So I've brought you to my _Master, _so you can go into that…cell and wait for her arrival. She'd been telling me of her plans to speak with you. Hello, Katara? Wake up."

"What?" I asked groggily.

But then, out of nowhere, it came flooding back to me. I had been kidnapped. Oh man! "How long have I been sleeping?" I wonder out loud, Gonzo shook with subtle laughter beside me. He put one large hand on my thin shoulder. I had been unbound, and now I was sitting on a thick, red rug in what looked like a foyer of some sorts. "Did you hear anything I just said?" Gonzo asked, smiling hugely.

I gave him a hard look, but didn't answer, feeling more on the apathetic side this morning. I got to my feet, messing with my robes, and ruffling them about, they were very dirty. Gonzo's eyes watched my closely. "Okay then. Go into that room and get changed, she has a silk kimono you may wear, the…purple one on the right. Please, do not wear the cream colored one; she has that one off to the left. Please, don't touch it," Gonzo instructed, giving me a small push towards the grand chestnut door.

I twisted the knob, heaving it forward and open with my sore muscles. Inside the room lavish furnishings had been set out, rich colors bouncing off the walls and onto the curtains, silks and soft fabrics covering almost every surface. I walked into the room, realizing how big it was as I went in deeper. I snapped my head around back towards the door, to see that Gonzo had removed himself from my presence. I really did hope he got his family back. He had been as kind as a kidnapper could be towards me. I turned to a chair to the side of me, where two kimonos hung over the back. On the left, there was the cream colored one, the one prohibited from my use, and right next to it, was a soft purple one, meant for me. I picked up the purple and one looked around the room for some changing place. There was only a curtained in little room, with no door, I grumbled and stepped in.

I slipped into the kimono quickly, not dwelling in the fact only a thick layer of cloth hid me from any one in particular who could walk into the room at that moment. Once I was finished, I took a seat on one of the comfortable cushions. While I waited (which seemed like a long time) I trace through the intricate designs sown into the kimono I wore. Little flower there, and a peacock with long tail feathers that reached out and swirled like gushing water.

"Do you like it?"

I started, flipped around to confront the person. "Mai!" I exclaimed, my emotions switching onto anger. I knew it was her all along. He wicked smile was subtle yet seemed to make a big impression on me. I hated it. I hated her. She was the one who screwed everything up. The worst part to me was the reason why she brought me here, and I knew it well.

"So, Katara, how has Zuko been? Nice?"

I could feel my eyes widening just a bit at her question, realizing the meaning of her accusation. I got to my feet, acting before thinking. "You have no right to throw such false terms at me! Me and Zuko have nothing! You're his girlfriend, go work it out with him instead of getting me to get him back!" I yelled, casting my arms out in the air, threatening to break several things in the room with an available wash basin across the room. There was water in there, of course.

Mai's face was sly, hidden, her grin was evil, just behind her cutting words. "Oh, but you don't know. Being me, his _girlfriend, _I would know better than anyone who my baby likes. And the answer is you. Why else would he bother staying to help Aang? For all you know, Zuko is just there to train Aang. But what you don't know is that that squirming wretch is a player! A lecher!" She screamed, spittle flying into my face. I wiped it off.

"Zuko and I have nothing going on! I hate his _GUTS!" _I steamed, smacking her in the face with the water. She fell back a ways, but kept her stance. Small growls came form her throat as she walked back to me, throwing her hand out. I expected the worst, poisoned arrows or darts of some kind, I whipped out more water…but a cold palm met my cheek first. I fell to the ground, and a splashing of water into the expensive carpet signaled my failure. Mai stood back, her expression was grim.

"Go to your room. I'll wait for Zuzu to arrive so I can talk to him. You'll see, I'm right."

I got to my feet, not particularly in the mood to argue with her (that wasn't good either, I was really tired). I climbed a set a generously carpeted stairs that led to a narrow door into my prison. I carefully turned the twisted metal knob, and entered into a metal version of hell.

**Oh, so that's it for chapter thirteen. Next chap will be Zuko on his 'quest' so you must stay tuned, tho I can't prove it will be exciting either, probably won't. It's your choice in the matter. **


	14. To go, or Not to go

Yes, I know of my OOCness, but like you said, I don't care

**Yes, I know of my OOCness, but like you said, I don't care. Sorry if it makes me sound cruel, but it's true. I at least hope you like it to make up for that fact. :P Cut the chat, I'm going to get this chapter over with. Do enjoy. **

**ZPOV (Katara is in that room)**

I had covered a good deal of ground, and now I could follow an easier trail from when her capturer got tired of hiding his track. His footprints and little point markers (a fruit skin, or a missing cord from her bonds) helped me along the pathless trail. I stepped speedily over tree roots and streams, trying to hurry my pace up. Whatever was happening to Katara, I wouldn't be able to guess, but so far from all the left-overs I've found, I'd say he wasn't totally ruthless.

That meant she was at least mildly okay.

But in the hands of some one untrustworthy enough to take her, I wouldn't be counting my blessings yet. The sun gotten well over in the sky, showing me that my slow pace was costing me time. Costing _her _time. The mountains I could see off to the right of the thick forest held the sun close, threatening to completely incarcerate it, I broke into a run. I could nimbly skip over the rocks and bumps in the ground, but I couldn't seem to go too much faster. This forest almost seemed to get longer and larger with every step.

I kept running, thought so her body being twisted and bloodied fueling my anger. Adrenaline gushed through my veins, ignoring the small snaps and rips as I bounded through a patch of red thorns. Now it didn't matter if she liked me or not, or course even if she didn't she'd soon fall for me, I mean, who wouldn't? Okay, now that was a bit on the arrogant side, but seriously, why else would I be coming if I didn't believe she could love me?

"Um, maybe because she's in trouble and she needs your help," Said a soft voice in my head.

I silently agreed, continuing to run.

At point in time, I didn't care if Aang was following either. Him and the blind girl…along with Sokka wouldn't be able to keep up with my speed. Unless of course, Appa was flying them…although he wasn't exactly the fastest flyer under the circumstances…

It all depended.

But what if Katara loved Aang? That little boy? Was she charmed by his mere innocence? Would it be that that kept us apart. As I ran, something came into my view, a house. A very large, lushly decorated house. Lamps and flowerpots hung around the roof trim. The red and cream colors painted onto the rafters and shingles, balconies and tiles with small designs scrawled into them. I inspected it. Leaning over to look at the tiny inscriptions and pictures. I had found her location.

"Ah! Zuko! You have arrived! You're welcome to my humble abode," She said.

Her voice was like sand paper scratching against the painted wooden steps below my feet. Her fake smile disappeared as I stepped up to her level. Pouring thoughts streaming through my battling mind, still thinking over me and Katara's _relationship, _I wasn't entirely paying close attention to her actions.

Then I felt warm liquid dripping down my upper arm.

* * *

"Come on Aang! You know we have to move faster! Katara's in trouble. Keep moving! Your friend is dead, let it go! As for now, Katara will be dead if you don't move now!" Sokka yelled, quickly packing away their belongings. He looking longingly over at Katara's sleeping bag, wishing strongly she was here to roll it up herself. Aang cringed at his words.

"Are you saying it's my fault she's gone?" Aang asked, getting up form his slump. Sokka thought for a moment, he hadn't said anything like that. "Aang we have to go after Katara, you're being selfish into thinking that she doesn't matter right now. Let's go! She's in danger! I mean, yeah, Zuko's going after her, but what for? He's always hated her. We are the only ones who can save her right now, so we must do that now! Let's go, now!"

Aang thought for a moment.

Sokka thought of the contrary, _"We don't have a moment!" _

Toph finished packing Katara's things up. She threw the pack and bed roll onto Appa's back and met Sokka by Aang's side. "Come on twinkle toes, we've got to go after Katara. She's in trouble. I know you want to go after her. Or is she the problem in this picture?" Toph asked, grumbling profusely.

Aang shook his head hard and got to his feet. "No, Sokka's right, I'm being selfish. Friends come first. Then other dead friends comes after," Aang said nobly, walking over to Appa. "Okay Appa, you ready to go find Katara? 'Cause if you're not ready, we can't really go."

Appa roared in reply.

"I guess that's a yes," Came Sokka's cracked assumption.

"Okay then. Let's go!"

**I'm sorry this is short, I'm eager to get this done. Besides, there's not much else I can add to this chapter. I'm also sort of sort about the writing work. I'm better at writing at certain times of if I'm sort of in the mood for it. Yes, there have been times where I was in the mood to write, but not for this story. It's not a good day for writing. **


	15. Fully Decided: The End

**Okay so, to start off, I want to thank you all for being such good reviewers. You're all extremely good to me and I haven't had a flame (for some weird reason, I haven't). I expected one, because of my obvious OOCness, but okay, I guess I'm not getting one. BUT if any of you flamers want to, go ahead and flame on the last chapter, I want to hear your thoughts. **

**Thank you to each and everyone of you reviewers, you and I both know who you are (not really, but I know all your usernames). I enjoyed hearing what you thought (tho many of you just, like it). Thank you much. **

**I'm so glad this is over. And thank you Kim, even tho you're a Kataang, you're the coolest person ever. **

**KPOV**

Looking back at my thoughts, I ask myself just why I entered this room. Or maybe it seemed to draw me in. A windowless hell of pure metal, dry and free of moisture. If I had to stay in here for a long time, I would consider using my on body water as a substance to cut through these walls. It would hurt, but I couldn't stay in here without going completely mad.

Aang would come for me. Zuko would leave, and Aang would be there for me.

But what if Zuko left? What would that do to me?

"Pfft, that wouldn't do anything to you, you hate him," Said that angry voice in my head. I agreed, smirking, thinking of my hate towards that guy. He had caused everything to go wrong. Mai had found us because of him; I had come here because of him. Everything was his fault. I found it was nice to dump the load of crud onto some one else's head, the blame some one else for this mess. Yet, there was this other voice, I tried to shut out, although as hard as I tried, it roared louder in my ear.

"You love him! Everything! His anger, his eyes, and his soft side he always tried to hide, you know it's there. That facial expression he always gets when he gets caught staring at you! You just never had the guts to realize it!" I drowned it out, thinking about brutally beating myself to get those thoughts out of my worn mind. I slumped over onto the ground, curling up into a ball. The silks wrapped around me, I could feel them, soft and smooth. The only light that shown in this pit was a timid strip of white from the door, and it was half covered by that thick carpet outside.

A sound made me jump.

I felt I was going insane as Zuko's voice popped into my mind. I could almost hear it below me, echoing up into this metal box, it was yelling. He sounded desperate, what was wrong? And then there was Mai's voice, she was quite calm, discussing things Zuko didn't want to discuss. Then I heard my name. Mai yelled it.

"You love her don't you?" Mai had asked.

"Where is she?!" That was Zuko

"Tell me Zuko! You love her!"

"Love who?!"

"KATARA!"

I froze to the floor beneath me. What would be his answer? Would it matter to me if he said yes? Or no? I heard footsteps; they were hard and pronounced pounding. "Where is she?" he asked. His voice was icy.

Mai growled, "Do you love her?" She asked again, persistent but I had to agree with her, I sort of wanted to know too.

"Yes! I do!"

I couldn't move anymore.

"Come on Appa, fly faster!" Sokka yelped, patting the Bison's side readily.

The fuzzy beast made a groan of 'No', but Sokka kept on. Aang sat at the had of Appa, thinking hard, and seeing down into the thick forest. "Go down there Appa, we need to get a better look around," He commanded gently, steering him down into the tree canopies. Appa broke through the surface of leaves and branches, shooting down into the forest floor. There was tough landing, but they survived, bearing small scrapes. Sokka yelped once more.

"Ow," He pried a stick from my leg, unveiling a large cut. "You guys go ahead, I'm going to wrap this up," He said, grabbing a bag with supplies inside it. Aang nodded quickly and darted off with Toph.

Aang ran agilely through the deep forest, not making change in speed for the blind earth bender behind him, not that she couldn't keep up. He kept on running, thinking of rescuing his loved one. _"But what if Zuko got there first?" _he thought, picking up speed. Toph bounded along easily with him, though her sight disability slowed her a little bit.

Then the house came into view. Aang hurried faster, kicking up dirt as he bended air to un faster. Toph rolled her eyes, bending out earth to stop Aang. "Stop it!" she whispered loudly. "We need to approach this house quietly."

Aang nodded again and they walked slowly up and around the house. Aang studied the fancy lamps and trims, looking into the house and listening for the angry voices that seemed to be fighting.

"Where's Katara!" Zuko demanded, taking a firm hold of Mai's kimono.

Aang and Toph stopped, creeping up behind the stair railing, peeking through the painted wood. "She's dead! I killed her! Get back with me! She doesn't deserve you!" Mai screamed back, raising her hands to his fist, trying to pry them from her dress.

"Doesn't? So she's alive!" He let go of Mai, bolting up to a door and kicking it open. He yelled, seeing as she wasn't in there.

* * *

KPOV

They fought hard, and now Zuko was looking for me. Why was this happening? Zuko hated me like I hated him. How could he love me enough to go after me? He cares? He was kicking down doors, and screaming at Mai while trying to find me, I felt like yelling out. I wanted to tell him where I was. I wanted to tell him to come and save me. But I stopped myself, choking on my own emotions.

I love Aang!

"No you don't! He's like your brother! That's the only way you love him! He's a little brother to you, you look out for him, but that's all!" That voice came back.

I curled up in a ball, fetal position on the hard ground. The screaming stopped all of the sudden, and light poured into my prison. He looked at me, and I closed my eyes form the blinding light, I stayed put. Zuko didn't ask, nor did he care if I rejected him, he pulled me tight. I don't completely remember if I did reject him, but his touch…

His warm embrace enclosed me, pulling me into the warmth of his shape. It was like the outside world was far away. My troubles and worries melted into him, leaving me there, his arms. I moved into him, accepted his touch, and then I felt breath in my ear. "Are you okay?" His voice was soothing to my aching ears, a solid hour in this box had done that to me, imagine if it had been longer. I shook my head to his question.

I felt him move me; he got to his feet, still holding me, carrying me. Without warning, my lips were pressed to his, and I was caught into it. I disappeared then, I was with him. I had given into it. That voice had been too right, I love Zuko. A startled voice in the background woke me out of that trance, and Zuko let my face go. I looked around, trying to see the person in the doorway. We were still in the metal room.

Mai stood there, but Aang had pushed past her, watching Zuko hold me close. The silence that was in the air was hard, cold, and I was like a statue in Zuko's arms. I could hear Aang swallow across the room, solemn truth in his face. It was probably one of the first times I ever saw his face looking completely grave.

"So this is the way you feel…" Aang said trying to smile for me one last time. "I understand."

Through the shocked faces of Sokka and the not-so-surprised face of Toph, I could see Aang leave the house, going to sit outside, alone. Momo jumped willingly up to his side, resting on his lap, comforting Aang. Appa was not far behind, nuzzling into Aang till his laughed a little. Zuko carried me out, and I didn't protest. I felt tired from struggling against Gonzo last morning and thinking so hard in that metal room, I just curled into Zuko's chest at the moment. Fully decided.

I knew Zuko could be a freak sometimes, but right now, all I wanted was him close to me.

Now to apologize to Aang…then go back to the temple…or maybe we could beat up Mai so that she won't spill this to the fire nation, I'm not sure entirely.

I'd let Zuko figure that out.

**I'm done, I sincerely (with all my soul) hope you liked it. I know, a lot of love and crap, but I couldn't really think of any other way to fix it all up. I really do feel bad for Aang tho, he just doesn't work with Katara, I'm sorry Kim, but he doesn't. He's too young, like I said a brother figure. **

**God bless!**


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